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But there’s always been this awareness between us, even before we started dating. I think it happened the first time I saw him, molecules in the air shifting to announce his presence.
Caleb says something else to Elliot, who looks over here as well. Then he heads straight for me, a move I did not see coming in what has already been an eventful morning.
“Is it just me, or isCaleb Winterscoming overhere?” Amanda whispers to our table.
I don’t have time to answer before he reaches us.
Caleb leans down and gives me a kiss in greeting, not bothering with words. His lips are warm and his mouth tastes like grape, probably from his sports drink.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Better.” I nod toward my empty plate. “I just ate my weight in pizza. And what you gave me this morning helped.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I know how he’ll interpret them. Caleb laughs, low and husky, as heat floods my cheeks.
“The painkiller,” I clarify.
His blue eyes dance. “I knew what you meant, Matthews.”
“How was practice?” I ask, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
“Well, I was late, so there were laps.”
“Sorry,” I whisper.
He shakes his head once, still amused. “Worth it. You get the truck here without crashing?”
“It’s parked down the street.” I pull his keys out of my pocket and set them on the table. “You’re supposed to take it for an oil change in a hundred miles.”
Caleb smiles, then pushes the keys back toward me. “Keep them. I’ll get a ride back to the house with Drew, then come over later.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I say, then remember where we are. When I glance away from Caleb, Abby is the first person I look at. Her eyes are round, her mouth slightly open.
I clear my throat. “Caleb, this is Eric, Joe, Amanda, and Abby. They all went to the documentary with me.” And apparently, they all already know who he is, but I add, “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Caleb,” just to be polite.
“Nice to meet you guys,” Caleb gives them all a friendly smile, which they all seem too shocked to reciprocate.
He glances to me, one eyebrow raised. I lift a shoulder in response. “How was the documentary?”
“It was amazing,” I answer.
“Good.” Caleb leans down and gives me another kiss, then straightens and nods to the rest of my table. His gaze returns to me. “Bye, Len.”
“Bye.”
Caleb leaves, heading toward the booth the baseball team took.
Total silence lurks in the wake of his departure.
“Oh. My.God?” Amanda whispers. “Your boyfriend who goes here is Caleb Winters and I…” Her voice trails, eyes still impossibly wide.
“No wonder the team all stopped,” Joe says. “Winters carries some serious weight on the team.”
“And here I was, thinking maybe they just liked me.” I smile, then take a sip of my water.
“Oh, shit. Sorry. That’s not what I meant.” Joe quickly backtracks, and my attempt to lighten the mood just made everything weirder.
“It’s fine. I was kidding,” I tell him.
